


coffee for twoo | chuuves

by oliviaHyesLips (savourThySoul)



Category: LOONA (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Canon Lesbian Character, Coffee, F/F, Fluff and Angst, LOONAVERSE Universe, Mentioned LOONA Ensemble, Muteness, No Lesbians Die, POV Lesbian Character, Romantic Fluff, Soulmates, chuuves - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:02:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 6,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26853391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savourThySoul/pseuds/oliviaHyesLips
Summary: To all intents and purposes, this won't be continued until the next myriadMajor warning : FLUFF and ANGSTIn this society, your first words spoken to your one and only will get tattooed on their body and their's on your body. Yves, is 24 and has not yet received any such sign.And how indeed would she find 'him' if 'him' was a 'her' and said girl (Chuu) was ... voiceless.
Relationships: Ha Sooyoung | Yves & Kim Jiwoo | Chuu, Ha Sooyoung | Yves/Kim Jiwoo | Chuu
Comments: 29
Kudos: 140
Collections: Loona 🌙, Loonatheworld





	1. 🍓Love mark🍓

"Miss, your Chinese samples from Tzu-Hyi have been delayed," said Yves' secretay, one of Yves' secretaries because she had at least a dozen of them. "And Cellini can't come today because her son is sick …"  
That's the final straw.

"I'm leaving for now, if any of them call set them up for tomorrow," said Yves', trying to keep the weariness from her tone.

"Yes Miss Sooyoung."

Yves strode out of the building and slid into her car. "Chan, coffee. I'm dying -"

"You'll survive miss," laughed Chan. Despite his youthful name he was quite an old man. "The Starbucks ?"

"It's too crowded," mused Yves. "I'd like to try one of the smaller shops.

Tall buildings and the skyline of Seoul slid by as Yves flipped through the newspaper and tried to understand the stocks. Slowly she entered into a more suburban are with lower buildings. The magnificent car* came to a halt in front of a small brown shop which looked respectable but was definitely quite. "I think this will work," said Yves.

When she stepped into the shop she realised she was almost correct. The tables were occupied mostly but there were spaces between tables, unlike the Starbucks she'd visited the other day or the stalls which had huge lines for coffee. A corner was taken up by a huddle of women who were probably the loudest people in the shop and they were just chatting amongst themselves.

Yves glided to the only unoccupied window table and set up her laptop in front of her. Many others were working there too. They won't shoo me away like the other shops where you have to buy something every minute or the manager will be there glaring daggers at you.

Yves rubbed her eyes unable to concentrate on her work and thought of what had happened with her father the previous week.

> "Ah but Yves, you know this is only a temporary arrangement right ?" said Yves' brother Taeil.
> 
> "What do you mean," said Yves, keeping the smile on her face.
> 
> "Father will hand it over to me, did you think you'd keep up this gig forever?"

Running her father's textile line wasn't a 'gig' for Yves. It was something she had wholeheartedly invested herself into and she couldn't work up the courage to actually go up to her father and ask him about his decision regarding the company CEO and shares distribution.

Her eyes roamed the shop and fell on a young couple just beside the old ladies. They were intensely looking into each others eyes and leaning into each other. The girl had black writing on the inner side of her lower arm which Yves couldn't read.

It must be the identification mark.

That was the other thing that made Yves a total loser. She was 24 and nobody had imprinted on her nor had she on anyone. Even her loser drunk brother had found a woman whose love mark was the words ' _One vodka_.'

Yves wondered how happy that marriage would be. She would never know would she. She sighed to herself and found her vision blocked by a brown haired girl mopping the floor. Yves suddenly straightened, realising that she'd been mooning for ten minutes without being served.

She looked at the girl and waved, "Hello, are you the waitress ? I need coffee at this table." The girl looked at her and stared blankly. She had a small red bow on her head and wide expressive eyes and for a moment they just stared at each other. The girl suddenly shook herself and dragging the mop behind her, disappeared behind the counter.

_What the actual fuck ?_

She was about to gather her stuff and leave when a blonde girl came. "So sorry for not getting her sooner." She bowed deeply and rose. "What can I get you."

"Strong coffee, nothing else, no cream nothing," snapped Yves. "By the way that other assistant, she's really rude, she didn't even take my order."

"Oh … she just mops the floor and stuff, excuse her for her behaviour please," said the blonde girl. "Can I offer you anything from our bakery ? There are doughnuts and a wide range of pastries."

Yves nodded, "Doughnuts will be fine."

* * *

"Chuu ! What are you doing there," said Gowon, tapping on her stall door. "You've been in there for a long time, are you sick ? Do you want to go home ?"

Chuu checked under her shirt one last time. She rubbed at the ink.  
Nope. It was still there.

She unlocked the door and stepped out clutching her abdomen.

"Chuu ! Are you sick ?"

Chuu frowned and shook her head.

Gowon placed her hand on Chuu's abdomen. "Pregnant ?"

Chuu felt like laughing. She bit her lip to stop smiling and slightly raised the tip of her shirt, showing Gowon the ink.

"Chuu, is that what I think it is ?" said Gowon.

Chuu nodded.

"Who was it ? Do you know who you got it from ?"

_That girl, it was the girl in the grey suit._


	2. ☕Just Coffee☕

"Chuu ! Hyejoo is in some sort of shit -"

Chuu frowned at her sister. Go won bactracked immediately, "Hyejoo is in a bit of trouble, I'll just go check on her and be back in a minute."

Chuu nodded. " _Don't snog her._ "

"Snog Hyejoo ?" said Gowon as if affronted by the idea of the act itself. "What gave you that idea?"

Chuu laughed and went back to examining the frosting. She had baked a batch of cupcakes and was trying a new design of frosting on each of them. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't see the customer come in.

Yves slung her bag over her shoulder and made her way into the shop she had previously visited. Her head was aching from that morning's meeting with the shareholders. The presence of her brother Taeil gave her hypertension and raised her blood pressure to 300 over 40.

The coffee shop was pretty empty, making Yves thankful for the silence.

She couldn't spot the blonde girl who generally served the customers. There was only the brown haired girl at the counter. She was staring with immense concentration at a piece of cupcake. Her light brown hair fell in ringlets,framing her petite face. She didn't look up even when Yves entered the shop.

"Excuse me, I want to order coffee," said Yves rapping her knuckles on the mahogany counter to get the girl's attention. She looked up with dark brown, but almost black eyes, which looked like someone had swirled chocolate in them.

The girl seemed a bit uneasy but she pushed herself off the stool she had been sitting on and disappeared under the counter table. She came up again with a menu.

As Yves read through it, she realised that she didn't have a specific coffee taste. Throughout her entire life working at the office her secretary had always served her that same old coffee, which was often cold by the time she reached.

Arabica beans, fresh ground, latte, expresso, Americano, hazelnut, french vanilla, percolated, instant, lousy, indifferent, cold, scalding, hot, milky, cream, syrup, mocha, decaffeinated, black, sugar, dunking biscotti, fair trade ...

"Can I have a Macchiato ?" said Yves, hoping she didn't look like a complete fool while saying it. _Do I need to specify the amount of milk or beans ? Do I say it in litres ? Do they even use actual beans ?_

The girl smiled and nodded. Her eyes lingered on Yves' bare hand and she sighed to herself. Yves lingered around the counter for a minute. The girl looked at her curiously and Yves pursed her lips, "do you have some of those doughnuts left ?"

The girl shook her head. She brightened and held up a cupcake which she had evidently been working on and sent a questioning look at Yves.  
Yves nodded. The girl started winding what Yves could only call a coffee machine. The girl went back to icing cupcakes without a second glance at Yves. "Hey, can't you speak ?" Yves wanted to take back the words as soon as she said them. Her ears reddened.

The girl shook her head. The curls fell across her eyes and she shook them out of her face.

"What's your name ? Mine is Ha Sooyoung," said Yves. She extended a hand to her. The girl extracted a notepad from her pocket and scribbled in it. She showed it to Yves.

> **Kim Jiwoo. But everyone calls me Chuu.**

"Chuu ? That's such a nice name," said Yves. Her handwriting swirled across the page and for sale me reason Yves wanted to year the page and keep it with her. She was itching to do so.  
"Nice talking to you Chuu ...," said Yves. I'll just go find a seat."

Chuu could feel her face burning as she watched the suited woman walking away from her. Why did Go won have to leave just then ? Ha Sooyoung settled by a window, at the same table she had occupied the previous day. She extracted a book from her bag - Aphrodite means death.

Yves flipped to the page where she had left off the previous night. When one is twenty-four years old and hasn't discovered her soulmate yet then 'Aphrodite Means Death' was the _the_ book to read. She obviously couldn't read it in her office of course. God forbid someone saw her reading that. As if not enough people knew that she hadn't found her significant other yet. As if she didn't always have to answer awkward questions in front of her parents.

She couldn't concentrate on the book though. She thought of how she'd felt that Chuu had been rude to her the previous day but the girl was in fact really soft.

Just then the front door opened and the blonde haired waitress came in. She lightly frowned at Yves and hurried behind the counter. Yves saw her making excited finger gestures at Chuu, whose expressions changed from surprise to happy. She laughed but the laugh didn't reach Yves. Yves found it lowkey creepy but then she saw the change in Chuu's face and felt her own something fluttering.  
I want to make her laugh like that. I want to talk to her too.

She studied the design on the cupcake. It was a fresh green apple which looked like a heart. 


	3. 🍏I think you're super cute🍏

Yves became a regular customer there and over the next week she had drunk twelve types of coffee to experiment which one she liked best (she liked the African one a lot so she drank that three times) and she always, always had this weird staring contest with Chuu. 

It was as if both of them wanted to stare at each other without getting caught but neither of them wanted the other to know what they were doing. Yves caught Chuu staring at her for the third time.

She winked at her and returned back to her book. When it was time to leave, she dug into her bag for her notebook where she catalogued her meetings and tore of a little part from the last page. She scribbled a note in it, placed it inside her book and then left the cafe, abandoning her book on the table.

Chuu sighed when she saw Yves leave the shop. 

"Chuu! The machine," said Gowon. Chuu hurried so that the coffee didn't tip over. She was too lost in her thoughts these days.

"You have to stop dreaming about her," said Gowon. "It's so easy, you just have to tell her."

Chuu rolled her eyes. If it had been so easy then Gowon would have told Hyejoo long ago. Chuu wasn't sure whose mark Gowon had but it had to be Hyejoo's because for some reason, Gowon didn't want to tell her. Her eyes fell on an abandoned book.

Aphrodite means death.

_Aish, Ha Sooyoung must have forgotten it._

She flipped the cover and a piece of paper fell out. On it, in an untidy scrawl was written : I think you're super cute."  
––  
Yves. Chuu turned the word on her tongue. Yves. Ha Sooyoung.

"Chuu ! Did you – Chuu ?" Gowon came up behind her and snatched the note. "Oh my goodness is it – is it her ?"

Chuu nodded. " _It was in her book. The book which she reads everyday."_

"Wow, she's smitten too," said Gowon.

" _She's trying to be friendly_ ," said Chuu.

"Yeah right, ugh I wish I was living the fairytale you're having right now," said Gowon with a dreamy look in her eyes. "You deserve it Chuu, you deserve every bit of love in this world."

* * *

"Be composed okay ?" said Gowon. "It's around time for her to come."

"It's not easy being composed in front of her. I feel so f-u-z-z-y," said Chuu.

"It happens," shrugged Gowon.

" _Have you ever felt like that around anyone ?"_ asked Chuu. Just then the door was flung open and Hyejoo skipped in.

"What's up ladies," said Hyejoo.

"Get your dirty hands off !," said Gowon batting away at Hyejoo.

"Nothing much, just Chuu having the dream love story."

"What did I miss ?"

"I got my love mark," said Chuu.

"A hickey ? Oh wait, shit Chuu you got the mark ?" asked Hyejoo.

Chuu nodded.

"She's afraid to tell the girl," said Gowon.

"Girl ? Chuu's gay ?" asked Hyejoo.

"As if that wasn't clear already," said Gowon. "Do you have a problem with it ?"

Hyejoo frowned. "Why'd you even ask that so defensively ? I'd love you guys even if Chuu's soulmate was Domald Tromp."

"I wouldn't," said Gowon with a shiver.

"So what's the plan ?"

"What plan ?" asked Chuu.

"Who's this woman ?" said Hyejoo.

"I looked up the name Ha Sooyoung," said Gowon. "She doesn't have many articles specifically about her, but she has many with her father who is the owner of a BBC, a textile and fashion company."

"Gowon being quite the detective here," said Hyejoo.

"I just googled it," said Gowon reddening a bit.

_"I don't want to tell her right now, it just ... feels too early. I don't even know her,"_ said Chuu.

"Well you have a chance to know her," said Gowon. She passed the note to Hyejoo.

"This is so romantic," said Hyejoo.

"Didn't know you were one for romance," said Gowon.

"How would you even know," muttered Hyejoo. "You have to tell her Chuu. I can just see it, Kim Jiwoo marries Ha Sooyoung, heiress to a huge fortune. _Richest_ lesbians in town."

"I will tell her, I just want to be friends with her before I do," said Chuu.  
"That's okay," said Hyejoo. "Not everyone is U-Hauling it like Jungeun and Jinsoul."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short updates ᵔᴥᵔ
> 
> Btw if anyone is reading this then please leave comments they increase my dopamine levels and aren't half as 'unhealthy' as chocolates ( ͡ಥ ͜ʖ ͡ಥ)
> 
> ☕🍩❤️


	4. ☕Penguins and Hearts☕

Throughout the day Chuu kept peeking at her note, the not Ha Sooyoung had written for her. It had to be for her right ?

She imagined Yves walking in through the door and then they would have a soulmate moment because some cosmic power would reveal to Yves that Chuu was her soulmate.

That did not happen.

The book, _Aphrodite means death_ was the only thing testimony to the fact that Yves had in fact been to the cafe, that Yves had written the note for her.

"Your long distance pining is ridiculous," commented Gowon.

Then came the day, four days later, when Yves did finally come in and they had their soulmate moment but it didn't happen as Chuu had wanted it to happen.

* * *

<p>Yves felt more light-hearted than she had in days. What with her business trip to Hong Kong and her brother's upcoming wedding, she couldn't have visited the little shop. But it was always there, at the back of her mind.

Unlike her previous visits, the cafe shop was absolute chaos. Huge balloons and streamers decorated the walls. Several children were clustered at one table. Behind the counter stood a penguin and a sheep, wearing aprons.

The penguin pushed back its head and the brown hair spilled out. Yves couldn't keep in her smile. Kim Jiwoo dressed in a penguin costume would make anyone smile. A little girl with short bob hair ran up to the penguin and tried to put the costume's head on herself, while Chuu tried to placate her.

The sheep nudged the penguin.

* * *

_It couldn't be. Not today of all days_. No matter how much Chuu didn't want to believe it, Ha Sooyoung was standing right at the entrance, smiling at her as if she was the most ridiculous thing in the world.

"We should never have signed up for this," muttered Gowon. "I don't know what Hyejoo would think if she saw me like this."

Looks like Chuu was going to experience the embarrassment first hand.

"Can I have a cappuccino," said Sooyoung. Chuu didn't meet her eyes. "And are those fresh donuts I smell ?"

Chuu nodded. "I'd like two of those."

Kim Jiwoo was feeling embarrassed. It was obvious from her abrupt movements, the reddening of her ears, how she didn't look into her eyes.

"You look really cute in that costume," said Yves nonchalantly. "Is it someone's birthday today ?"

At this Chuu brightened and patted Yeojin's head. Yeojin was trying to untie her apron. Chuu sighed and bent in front of Yeojin. She clapped her hands in front of her and then picked out a toffee from her fins.

Yeojin's eyes widened. "Ma look ! Chuu Chuu gave me a toffee !"" At her shout two women turned, one of them had vibrant pink hair and was nursing another baby.

They must be her mothers, thought Yves. "Chuu Chuu?" said Yves. Jiwoo shrugged. She took off her fins as she slid the order across the counter.

But Yves didn't leave immediately.

_She had to have the courage._

"Hey can I have your number?"

* * *

Gowon was okay with people exchanging soulmate gazes in her shop, after all cafes always had people bumping into each other and meeting people. But the goey thing Chuu and Yves were doing right now was so not acceptable.

"Do you need her number ?" asked Gowon with as much sweetness as she could muster.

"To text her," said Yves, possibly blushing a little too. "If she's okay with it."

"Well what else would you use it for ?" She quickly scribbled it on the side of the cup. "There you go."

"I'll see you later then," said Yves. She seemed reluctant to go, as if she had more to say but then she thought better of it. "Bye then."

Chuu waved after her, then grabbed Gowon. _"Why did you give her my number ?"_

"Would you have given it to her yourself ?" asked Gowon.

" _Yes- maybe not but-_ "

" _But would you have felt bad later that you didn't take the opportunity when you could_ ?" asked Gowon.

Chuu remained silent. "That's why I had to step in. Don't mess it up," said Gowon with a wink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm afraid this might just be one of my worst written stories, but for some reason I actually like it ...
> 
> I have the later part of the angst written out but the first part of the story was sort of difficult for me to manage, because I had to portray Chuu's difficulty too.
> 
> I wouldn't call it her disability though, I think mute people (selective or otherwise) have varied forms of expression and I plan on including it here. Love should go beyond all that right ?


	5. 🍎Penguins Again🍎

"Stalking are we?" asked Gowon as she passed Chuu, who was searching up pictures of Ha Sooyoung on her mobile, for the third time that day.

" _It's not s-t-a-l-k-i-n-g_ ," said Chuu.

"Chuu, if looking up pictures of a person and researching their personal life not stalking then ViVi's new kid isn't a girl," said Gowon.

Chuu shook her head. But maybe she was stalking? Gowon did have a point ...

"Besides, she gave you her number right? Just call her," said Gowon.

Chuu's expression fell as Gowon stopped dead in her tracks. How could she have said that ?

"Dang, Chuu I'm sorry-"

" _It's not your fault_ ," said Chuu. " _It's not anyone's fault_."

Chuu's mobile flashed brightly.

**Three message from Kim Kardashian**

**Two messages from 9988773806**

Chuu clicked on the second one faster than flash.

_Don't ask me why but this made me think of you_

_In a cute way of course_

"Is it her?" asked Gowon peeking over her shoulder.

Chuu nodded.

"Well go on, reply to her," said Gowon.

_That costume was so embarassing_

_Kim Jiwoo right ?_

_Yup, you got the name right_

_Usually don't_ 😂 _I'm kind of bad with_

_people and names_

_I wanted to call you but this seemed to be a better option_

_I am more comfortable with it_

"Not gonna lie, that picture is your look alike," said Gowon.

_Guess what, one of the women with the kids who was_  
_at your shop today is our Chinese stylist_

_ViVi?_

_Yes, Kahei_  
_You seem to be close friends_

_We became friends after she and_

_Haseul started_ _dating_

_So have you ever seen an actual penguin?_

Chuu felt herself redden. Why did she keep talking about penguins.

_I'd like to take you to see one_

* * *

**I'd like to take you to see one...**

"Damn this girl is fast," said Gowon.

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Chuu.

"Just that she isn't shy to ask you out," said Gowon

"She's just-" Even Chuu was at a loss for words.

_We could go to the planetarium too_

_Its new_

_Chuu?_

_We could go I suppose_

_Which one?_

_The Penguins I think_

_But we could go to the planetarium too_

_The Penguins it is then🐧_

_So this is a yes right?_

_Yes_

_I'd like to go_

_FANTASTIC ! IM SO PUMPED RIGHT NOW_

_See you tomorrow_

**Wait, tomorrow?**

_Or we could adjust the date if you have_

_problems at the cafe_

Chuu looked at Gowon.

Gowon sighed as if she was in despair. "Guess I'll have to get Choerry to fill in."

_Lets go tomorrow_

_I'm free_

_Then so am I_

_See you tomorrow Kim Jiwoo_

_I'll pick you up at the cafe?_

Chuu typed out a confirmation, the phone shaking in her hands.

"Damn Chuu, looks like you got yourself a date," said Gowon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk about you guys but I smiled so bad I have gum problems right now
> 
> Just a note on how Chuu 'talks'. This is my first time writing from the pov of someone like her. And in the only other fics like this that I've read which have speechless characters like her have been severely disappointing.
> 
> In some places I connect letter in words with hyphens, example- s-t-a-l-k-i-n-g. There's no exact word for that or Chuu doesn't know it, so I make her spell out the word in letters. (That's a part of sign language too)
> 
> Sometimes I forget to put her conversations in italics. I think it's unnecessary because (a) it's pretty obvious (b) I way her to seem as 'normal' as possible. If you know sign language then it's as easy to talk to her as to anyone else.
> 
> Lots of love guys, and stream why not 🎊


	6. 🕸️ Halloween & Penguins🕸️

Chuu thrust her hands deeper into her coat as she hiked up the road to Everland Park. Just that morning she'd woken up to two texts from Ha Sooyoung, wishing her good morning and that she was excited to meet up. 

She didn't look it but Yves was the sort of person who texted their girlfriend in the morning. And it made Chuu happy that someone had been thinking about that morning.

"What do you mean? I think of different ways to wake your sleepy head every morning," Gowon had said, when Chuu voiced her happiness to her before setting out. But Gowon could see the joy in Chuu.

Even in the winter, the water/amusement/penguin park had a crowd in front of it. Sooyoung stood feet apart from the crowd, craning a neck to catch a glimpse of Chuu. She stood up on a bench, attracting strange looks from some people.

Ha Sooyoung   
_Hey you didn't enter the park right?_

Chuu responded a minute later with a " _negative_."

_Okay then where are you_

Chuu

_Looking at you_

Sooyoung looked up to see Chuu waving at her. She hastily jumped off the bench. "That was embarassing," said Sooyoung, running her fingers through her hair. 

Chuu's smile widened and she shook her head. They stared at each other for a few moments before Chuu tipped her head towards the entrance of the park. _Lets go._

They took a map from the ticket counter the entrance. Yves jerked it open holding it in front of her. "Okay where should we go first."

Chuu hit her elbow lightly and too the map in her own hands, inverting it. She had been holding it upside down.

"Thanks," said Yves. "I'm so bad at this."

Chuu shook her head and lightly touched her hand and lead her into the park. 

On entering the park, a slight chilly breeze rustled the leaves making them fall to the solid ground one by one.The air was cool, the beams of sunlight weak but glowing on their skin. 

They passed under an archway of umbrellas and the mouth, stomach and tail of a dragon.

"It's decorated for Halloween," said Yves, pointing at some lanterns kept at the corner, crude scary faces carved on them. Further in, the park became way more grand. The place was surrounded by castles and towers, each leading into a sanctuary, a snake house, a lake, bird cages, restaurants and penguins.

"Let's go to the pengs last," said Yves. Chuu marvelled at the beauty of the castles. They were imitations of Disney movies made for kids but there were still marvellous. She clicked some pictures in the bird cages and sanctuary but she stopped after a moment, except to occassionally click pictures of Yves when she wasn't looking. 

Chuu covered her eyes when they entered the snake house. 

"You don't have to be scared, Chuu, look at me," said Yves. Chuu shook her head.

"The snake isn't near the glass, see how beautiful it is," said Yves.

Chuu hesitatingly opened her eyes. They were in front of the glass box of a python. It was long and thin, it's skin scaly with multicoloured diamonds. "It's kind of beautiful," said Yves. The snake twined itself around a branch, the jet black glinting in the lighting.

There really was beauty in everything.

*******

"Do you want to have a cola or ice cream," asked Yves. "Wait that's not a good idea in winter. How about a candy fluff?"

They settled for one cotton puff, each was the size of a large beach ball. "It's going to blow away in the wind."

They tore off little pieces from the puff, their hands occassionally brushing but they both acted nonchalantly about it.

"Oh look they started a ghost house for Halloween!" said Yves. "Can we go– if you are okay with it."

Chuu was _not_ okay with it. But Yves really did seem eager to go ...

"Come on it will be fun," said Yves.

What if it's scary, Chuu wanted to say.

"I'll be there if it's scary," said Yves.

*******

The house looked like some abandoned Scooby-Doo manor. Very realistic overgrown branches covered the door as if it was warning them off. "Hope you enjoy, or don't...," said the man selling tickets. The entrance was covered by a huge wooden door. It made a creaking noise like every abandoned house did and then slammed shut behind them.

"This is going to be okay," said Yves.

Okay Ha Sooyoung, admit it that you suggested going inside a spooky house just so looked like that _cool chic person who isn't scared_. Admit it and get out of here! Admit that you're a wimp– a door creaked open and Yves almost jumped, realising just in time that it was merely the next set of customers.

Yves side-eyed Chuu. She didn't look like the sort of person who would laugh at her– An owl flew over their head, hooting loudly. Why was there a damn owl in a spooky house. 

"Hey Chuu~"

"Would you like a candy?" The voice was shrill but low. It sent a shiver down Yves' spine and she almost melted on coming face to face with a zombie. She looked hideous, with holes in her right cheek.

Chuu on the other hand nervously smiled at it and reached out for a toffee. After careful searching she selected one and looked questioningly at Yves. Sooyoung shook her head and grimaced.

Chuu didn't realise it at first but now it was pretty evident. Ha Sooyoung was scared. At some point inside the house she had clutched Chuu's hand and now she was practically hyperventilating against her. Chuu stopped in her tracks.

"What!? Who's coming–! Why'd you stop!"

Chuu rolled her eyes and surprised Yves by hugging her. She rubbed her back lightly. This was what her mother did for her as a kid. Yves went froze when Chuu hugged her but gradually she her body became limp.

They had to get out of there.

Chuu took out her phone and messaged Yves. " _We're going to look for the entrance. I'm going to get one of these zombies.to tell us the location but you have to ask them for me_."

Yves read her text twice over. Without waiting for her to respond, Chuu pulled her along with her and tapped on the shoulder of what looked like a badly done character from 'The Kingdom.'

He turned to them and Chuu lightly bumped her with an elbow.

"Can you show us the way to the entrance, Yves wanted to sound composed but her voice came out in a squeak. 

"You're already at the entrance, just going around in circles, the entrance is the exit," said the mummy.

"We have to go _all_ the way back?"

They emerged out through the entrance and the ticket collector looked at them in surprise. He tore their tickets in half and gave them one half. "Whoa, you two lasted pretty long in there. Hope you come again."

Chuu smiled at him too. 

"Can we please go to the penguins now," drawled Yves.

*******


	7. ❄️Christmas (or 27 days into the relationship)❄️

"Sorry for behaving like a wimp back there," said Yves, breaking the silence. They were standing in the line to enter the Penguin Emporium. Jiwoo noddded her head and touched her hand reassuringly.

One thing Sooyoung had noted about Chuu was that she conveyed a lot through her touch. When she won the penguin soft toy at the arcade, she clutched Sooyoung's hand tightly, giddy with excitement. When she saw Sooyoung eating the candy floss messily, she lightly touched their shoulders. Right now they were comfortably holding hands, since they'd emerged from the haunting house, they'd somehow been holding hands and neither of them had made a move to let go.

"Are you two a couple?" The guy who spoke waved some rectangular passes in front of them. "Special passes for couples."

"We are not a couple?" said Sooyoung looking questioningly at Jiwoo.

"Guys, you two look really cute together and I really need to sell these passes before my shift ends."

Jiwoo gave a quick playful smile and reached for them. "We'll take it," said Sooyoung, her own face reflecting Chuu's grin.

*******

They went on nine official dates over the next month and eleven unofficial ones where they casually met up in the cafe. To someone on the outside, dates between two people who couldn't directly communicate could seem rather dull, but they weren't. Jiwoo and Sooyoung yearned for each other's presence throughout the day.

Sooyoung who had flunked her Spanish classes with a 'D', managed to grasp the Korean Sign Language within three weeks. Jiwoo was a good teacher, patient and consistent. Chuu had assigned a special name sign to Sooyoung, the bird sign except with two hands.

"I can't tolerate your rant about this girl anymore, looks like I have to meet her," said Jinsoul when Sooyoung described (for the umpteenth time) how Chuu had expertly won three hoop games.

Sooyoung eventually learnt that Chuu's holiday spirit was extremely strong and infectious. She had never been overly find of Christmas. The card giving, buying present, the overall jolliness of the thing wasn't appealing to her. Singing and celebrating didn't come to her naturally but with Chuu, she found herself doing something festive every other day of December and kind of enjoying it (?).

On 24th December she woke up to eight pictures and a message from Chuu. Two of them were of her friend, Chaewon and her dog Bbomi. Another was of a group of people singing carols under a huge cherry blossom tree. Another of the park, covered with snow a few inches deep. Every picture made her smile.

The last one made her grin like an idiot. It was a picture of Chuu headbumping a snowman she had built outside the cafe.

_«Chuu»_  
_Remember our date today_

_«Sooyoung»_  
_My legs are frozen_

_«Chuu»_  
_If you help us today then I'll warm them up for nothing_

Sooyoung's eyes twitched at the varied interpretations of that text. Chuu seemed to have realised it too because she texted just after a few seconds.

_«Chuu»_  
_I meant hot chocolate and cozying in front of my heater_

_«Sooyoung»_  
_Of course you did love_

Sooyoung had typed the message without lending it much thought but Chuu caught on the last word. She knew that what she and Sooyoung had was 'friendly' but not restricted to that. They had, after all, almost kissed on one occassion.

_Of course you did love._

*******

"Why are we doing this again," muttered Hyejoo.

"Because we need a tree," said Chaewon.

"Why can't we just buy one," said Hyejoo.

"Because they're artificial," snapped Chaewon. "Give me your hands, I'm feeling cold."

Thus arguing amongst themselves, Chaewon and Hyejoo strolled away insearch of a tree.

Sooyoung wielded the axe in her hand and tried swinging it. "Look at me, a lumberjack lesbian. Not stereotypical at all."

" _Nope, come on you look fine_ ," said Chuu. Although she'd wanted to get a tree, she stared at Sooyoung for a few seconds.

"My looks can be a bit distracting," smirked Sooyoung.

" _It's not your looks, your shirt isn't buttoned properly_."

Sooyoung looked downwards and was dismayed to find that her shirt truly was untucked and improperly buttoned. "Have I been exposing my belly button to everyone all day."

Chuu laughed. " _Cover it up."_

Choosing a tree was, according to Chuu, a ritual in itself. None of the trees were perfect. One was too short, one too tall, one was too bushy, the other had a yellowed branch.

"Let's just pick one we can actually haul back in the truck," said Sooyoung. She was getting a bit tired hauling the axe around. "What about this one?"

Chuu contemplated it and then shook her head in approval. She reached for the axe.

"Whoa, hold up, I'm not letting you do this," said Sooyoung.

" _I'll have you know I'm a taekwondo black belt,"_ said Chuu. _"I am very much capable of this."_ She flexed her biceps as if to reinforce her statement.

"One swing each?"

" _One swing each_ ," agreed Chuu grudgingly.

"Let me demonstrate the power of these," said Sooyoung patting her upper arms. Chuu looked unimpressed. Sooyoung picked up the axe, eager to prove herself and swung it against the tree.

They each swung four times before they collapsed on the snow, huffing heavily.

"That was–"

Chuu held up a hand and shook her head.

"Just because I look the part, doesn't mean I have muscles," said Sooyoung.

" _Didn't stop you from bragging about your inner J-o-h-n C-e-n-a_ ," said Chuu.

They both laughed and leaned against each other.

"Ayo what are you two upto?" Hyejoo and Chaewon emerged from the tree, their cheeks pink from the cold.

"We found a tree, but we couldn't cut it," said Sooyoung. They both stood up abruptly and brushed themselves off.

"Were you two actually cutting trees or..." asked Chaewon raising an eyebrow.

" _You two abandoned us,"_ retorted Chuu.

"Ladies first," said Hyejoo, presenting the axe to Chaewon.

"Why me? I was the one who drove us here," said Chaewon.

"I dragged the axe from my house," said Hyejoo.

"I'm paying for your December coffee!" protested Chaewon.

They started bickering amongst themselves.

" _You missed a button_ ," said Chuu.

"Jeez," said Sooyoung, fumbling with her shirt, again.

Chuu pushed her hand aside and unbuttoned it, buttoning it up the correct way.

Then, without warning she slid her hands around Sooyoung, engulfing her in a hug.

*******

In the end they purchased a tree from Oaklee's Glade. The next day, Sooyoung escaped from the office party as soon as she could and hurried to the small cafe. On the way out of the building, she almost crashed into a man. 

"I'm sorry," said Sooyoung. "I hope you're okay?"

The man flashed her a bright smile. "Don't worry, I'm fine. Lee Min Ho."

He extended her hand to Sooyoung who gave a tight smile before accepting it. "You must be Ha Sooyoung, the company President's daughter."

"That's me," said Sooyoung.

"Aren't you going to stay for the party?" he asked. "I can–"

"Mr. Lee, it's been a pleasure meeting you, and I really am sorry. I need to be somewhere right now," said Sooyoung.

"Oh, I'm sorry for holding you up," said Lee Min Ho.

"It's nothing, enjoy the party," said Sooyoung.

"Oh I will," said Lee Min Ho, smiling (creepily) in the dark.

*******

The interior of the cafe was dim. The yellow lights were up and the interior was warm. It was pretty late and the cafe was almost empty. In the centre was the Christmas tree, shining brightly. Sooyoung admired it for a few moments. She and Chuu had together decorated it yesterday.

Yerim waved at her from the counter.

"Are you stuck here for today?" asked Sooyoung. "I'd like a decaf."

"Nah, my friends are setting out later," said Choerry. "We're going beyond the bridge for a party."

"Stay safe," said Sooyoung.

Chuu emerged from the apartment in a knitted wool cap, snowman mittens and Gryffindor scarf over a thick sweater. Her face lit up when she saw Sooyoung.

"Let's hurry, the lights are starting up," said Chaewon. She was followed by Hyejoo who was in a biker's jacket. 

"You're going to catch a cold in that ridiculous jacket," Chaewon told Hyejoo.

"I escaped as soon as I could," said Sooyoung.

" _Won't your parents mind_?" asked Chuu, as they strolled to the car.

"I don't think they noticed," said Sooyoung, trying to keep the bitterness from her voice. They probably hadn't even opened the gift she had got for them. "But hey it's Christmas."

" _The lights will cheer you up, they're amazing_ ," said Chuu.

Sooyoung was accompanying the trio to Seoul's biggest Christmas celebration. Apparently it was an annual celebration where crackers lit up the entire sky for half-an-hour straight. In all her twenty four years, Sooyoung remembered seeing it only once and that too from afar.

Today she was going to see it from the 'wheel' which was supposedly the best vantage point as Chuu, Chaewon and Hyejoo had deduced in all their years of coming to see the lights.

The city centre was dark and the sky pitch black when they reached, making Sooyoung wonder whether they'd reached the wrong spot. The majority of the crowd was huddled around a huge tree which hasn't been lit yet. Instead of trying to get a centre position in the crowd, they pushed through it.

Chuu suddenly caught here hand. " _Follow them, I'll be right back_."

"Where are you going?"

Without answering Chuu disappeared to the left.

"She'll be fine," said Chaewon.

Sooyoung tried to keep the fear at bay. Hyejoo was trying to force the lock to the city park.

"Are we supposed to be going in?" asked Sooyoung.

"This place is supposed to be locked up," said Hyejoo. "People litter a lot during Christmas."

"We designated this place as the best vantage point in eleventh year at school," said Chaewon.

Sooyoung wondered what it would've felt like to have known Chuu back then. Chuu had a whole lot of history with Chaewon and Hyejoo which she didn't with Sooyoung.

"Was that the year Chuu's mother..."

"Yes," said Chaewon.

"Who found this place?" asked Sooyoung, feeling she already knew the answer to that.

"It was Chuu, when her mom left she was sort of– she became a loner," said Chaewon. "She'd always loved both her parents, she's always loved everyone and when all the problems started up, it was hard for her to accept it. She felt she was being too happy all the time and didn't notice all the problems around her."

"She was being hard on herself," said Sooyoung.

"She was," agreed Chaewon. "Hey Sooyoung, just a request–"

She shut up when she spotted Chuu.

"Hot chocolate?" asked Hyejoo, trying to diffuse the tension.

" _It's tradition_ ," said Chuu.

She gave one to each of them. " _Did y'all tell her what to do_?" asked Chuu pointing at Sooyoung.

"Wait guys, we aren't doing anymore illegal stuff are we?"

*******

Sooyoung stared in amazement as Chuu readily climbed up the ladder into the wheel. The 'wheel' was an abandoned flat disc like ride which could seat upto twenty people.

"Don't be a wimp," said Hyejoo.

Sooyoung shakily placed her feet on the step and thanked herself for wearing trousers. She collapsed into the seat beside Chuu and breathed heavily.

"I've had more adventure today than I have hand in twenty-four years," said Sooyoung.

" _Your hair is going white_ ," said Chuu furrowing her eyebrows.

"No, really?"

Chuu shook her head and placed her head on Sooyoung's shoulders. 

"You're perfect you know," said Sooyoung.

" _Am not_ ," protested Chuu.

"You are, you didn't even forget hot chocolate."

Chuu thought for a moment. " _You're perfect too_."

"How so?" asked Sooyoung. Nobility and humbleness could only survive so far.

" _You faced some of your fears today just to be here with me,"_ said Chuu.

They looked deeply into each other's eyes and leaned a bit closer to each other. They didn't notice when the sky lit up.

*******

"Don't stay out for too long," Chaewon told Chuu. She waved at Sooyoung and left them alone. Hyejoo following behind her because she was crashing at their place.

" _Did you enjoy today?_ " asked Chuu.

" _Wholeheartedly,_ " said Sooyoung. She was proud of being able to carry out almost entore conversations in sign language. Sometimes she resorted to using sign language. Right then in the silence it felt right.

" _You can stay here too,_ " said Chuu.

" _I think I should go back,_ " said Sooyoung, digging her hands into her pocket.

A small leaf floated through the air in front of them and landed on the floor.

_Misletoe._

" _Who put that over there._ " Chuu smiled nervously.

_"You're one for traditions so..."_ said Sooyoung.

Sooyoung didn't know who did it first. Maybe it was both of them.

Their lips met, gently pushing against each other.

In just one kiss, Sooyoung knew that she was in too deep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm internally screaming hoping the neighborhood won't wake up
> 
> I think this may be too gooey but I can't think anymore today. Maybe I'll edit or revamp this tomorrow *sigh*
> 
> I also want to roll the credits on this story but nah, I promised y'all angst and distraught lesbians. I've introduced a new character, yes, Lee Min Ho (I hope he's not a real idol or person, the only Minho know is from Maze Runner), and he'll drive everyone here crazy (if all goes according to plan, or doesn't *wink*)


End file.
